5th Grade Math Worksheets Fractions, Unlike Denominators to Division

Pick a grade 5 skill in Sheet type, from unlike denominators to unit fraction division, then press Print.

Sheet type

Problems

Answer key

12 problems. Add any two unlike fractions, halves to twelfths. Sheet 59468I, with its answer key.

Add any two unlike fractions, halves to twelfths

Name Date Score / 12

Add. Rename the fractions with a common denominator first. Write each answer in lowest terms, and as a mixed number when it is 1 or more.

1. + = ________
2. + = ________
3. + = ________
4. + = ________
5. + = ________
6. + = ________
7. + = ________
8. + = ________
9. + = ________
10. + = ________
11. + = ________
12. + = ________

Sheet 59468I · Made at homeroomtools.com

Answer key. Add any two unlike fractions, halves to twelfths

1. + = + = =
2. + = + =
3. + = + = =
4. + = + = =
5. + = + = =
6. + = + = =
7. + = + = =
8. + = + =
9. + = + =
10. + = + = =
11. + = + =
12. + = + = = =

Sheet 59468I · Made at homeroomtools.com

Next step Split unlike denominators into easier steps Print more mixed number sums and differences

How it works

Fractions worksheets grade 5 for unlike denominators, mixed numbers, multiplying, dividing with unit fractions, and a fraction as a division. The page opens on 12 unlike sums. Make a new sheet changes the numbers.

Read the full guide

What grade 5 covers

Common Core 5.NF.1 adds and subtracts unlike denominators, mixed numbers included. 5.NF.3 reads a fraction as a division, 5.NF.4 multiplies by a fraction, and 5.NF.7 divides unit fractions and whole numbers by each other. Texas covers whole number × fraction in 5.3(I) and leaves fraction × fraction to grade 6.

The slip to expect

A slip to look for is 1/2 + 1/3 given as 2/5: the tops are added and the bottoms are added. A quick check: 2/5 is less than 1/2, so it cannot be 1/2 plus something more. Add any two unlike fractions, halves to twelfths shows the renamed fractions in its key.

The two sheets in halves to sixteenths use the fractions of a ruler marked in sixteenths of an inch.
Find the missing fraction in an unlike sum is a subtraction in disguise: 11/12 − 1/3 finds the fraction left out.

Questions and answers

Do 5th graders divide fractions by fractions?

Not under the Common Core. 5.NF.7 stops at a unit fraction divided by a whole number, such as 1/3 ÷ 2, and a whole number divided by a unit fraction, such as 3 ÷ 1/4. Fraction ÷ fraction is grade 6 work, in 6.NS.1.

How do you add fractions with unlike denominators?

Rename both over a common denominator, then add the numerators: 3/4 + 1/3 = 9/12 + 4/12 = 13/12 = 1 1/12. The opening sheet prints 12 of these, and its key shows each renamed pair.

Do the answer keys show the steps?

On most sheets, yes: the renamed fractions or the reciprocal, the raw answer, then lowest terms. The missing fraction sheet prints the subtraction beside each line. The key is the last page; untick Answer key to leave it off.

Are there grade 5 fraction word problems here?

No. Every sheet on this page is written arithmetic with a key. Word problems, area models and line plots, which Common Core 5.NF.2, 5.NF.4, 5.NF.6 and 5.MD.2 also ask for, are not printed here.

All 13 sheet types

Unlike denominators 3

Add any two unlike fractions, halves to twelfths 3/4 + 1/3 = 9/12 + 4/12 = 13/12 = 1 1/12. The two denominators can be any unlike pair from 2 to 12, so some problems rename one fraction and some rename both, and some sums pass 1. The key shows the renamed fractions, then lowest terms.
Find the missing fraction in an unlike sum A sum with one fraction left out: something plus 1/3 makes 11/12. Subtracting finds it: 11/12 − 1/3 = 11/12 − 4/12 = 7/12. The hidden fraction and the one shown always have one denominator that is a multiple of the other, and every total is below 1.
Subtract any two unlike fractions, halves to twelfths 5/6 − 7/12 = 10/12 − 7/12 = 3/12 = 1/4. Any unlike pair of denominators from 2 to 12, with the larger fraction always first. Many answers still need a common factor divided out, as 3/12 does here.

Show all 13 sheet types (10 more)

Mixed numbers with unlike denominators 4

Add mixed numbers in halves to sixteenths 5 1/2 + 9 15/16 = 5 8/16 + 9 15/16 = 14 23/16 = 15 7/16. Every denominator is 2, 4, 8 or 16, the fractions of a ruler marked in sixteenths of an inch, and in every sum the fraction parts come to 1 or more, so one more whole is traded in.
Mixed number + fraction, unlike denominators 6 3/4 + 1/3 = 6 9/12 + 4/12 = 6 13/12 = 7 1/12. Only one number has a whole part, so the renaming is the whole job. When the fraction parts pass 1, as 13/12 does, one more whole is traded in.
Subtract mixed numbers in halves to sixteenths, borrowing 4 3/8 − 2 11/16 = 4 6/16 − 2 11/16 = 3 22/16 − 2 11/16 = 1 11/16. After renaming, 6/16 is too small to take 11/16 from, so one whole is borrowed as 16/16. Every problem on the sheet needs a borrow.
Unlike mixed numbers: subtract as improper fractions 3 5/6 − 1 1/3 = 23/6 − 4/3 = 23/6 − 8/6 = 15/6 = 5/2 = 2 1/2. No borrowing: both mixed numbers become improper fractions first, then share a denominator. Denominators stay at 2, 3, 4 and 6 so the numerators stay small.

Multiplying 2

Fraction × fraction, halves to sixths 2/3 × 1/2 = 2/6 = 1/3. Multiply the numerators, multiply the denominators, then divide out any common factor. The denominators stop at 6, so no product has a denominator above 36. Texas leaves fraction × fraction to grade 6.
Fraction × whole number, in either order 3/5 × 12 = 36/5 = 7 1/5, and 7 × 3/8 = 21/8 = 2 5/8. The fraction comes first in about half the problems and second in the rest. Either way the whole number multiplies the numerator and the denominator stays.

Unit fractions and whole numbers divided 2

Cut a unit fraction into equal parts: 1/3 ÷ 2 1/3 ÷ 2 = 1/3 × 1/2 = 1/6. A third cut into 2 equal parts gives sixths. The key writes each division as a multiplication by the reciprocal of the whole number.
How many unit fractions fit? 3 ÷ 1/4 3 ÷ 1/4 = 3 × 4 = 12. There are 4 fourths in each whole, so 12 fourths in 3 wholes. Every answer is a whole number, and it is larger than the number being divided.

A fraction as a division 2

Thirds to ninths: the two nearest whole numbers 11/6 = 1 5/6, so 11/6 lies between 1 and 2. Dividing 11 by 6 gives 1 whole with 5 left over. Common Core 5.NF.3 asks which two whole numbers an answer lies between.
Whole ÷ whole: write the quotient as a fraction 5 ÷ 3 = 5/3, and 2 ÷ 20 = 2/20 = 1/10. The number being divided becomes the numerator and the divisor becomes the denominator. Answers above 1 stay as improper fractions on this sheet.

How this list was compiled: Own list of sheet types, written in October 2026. Every worked example was checked with exact fraction arithmetic. Standards were read in the full texts on 2026-10-01 and are given here in our own words: Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, https://learning.ccsso.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Math_Standards1.pdf (5.NF.1 adding and subtracting with unlike denominators, mixed numbers included; 5.NF.3 a fraction as a division; 5.NF.4 multiplying a fraction or a whole number by a fraction; 5.NF.7 unit fractions divided by whole numbers and whole numbers by unit fractions, with the footnote that a fraction divided by a fraction is not grade 5 work); Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills, 19 TAC chapter 111, https://tea.texas.gov/laws-and-rules/sboe-rules-tac/sboe-tac-currently-effect/ch111a.pdf (5.3(H), 5.3(I), 5.3(K), 5.3(L)) and https://tea.texas.gov/laws-and-rules/sboe-rules-tac/sboe-tac-currently-effect/ch111b.pdf (6.3(E)). Method wording (common denominators, multiplying numerators and denominators, reciprocals, mixed numbers and improper fractions) was checked against https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraction on the same day. Licence: own work